moderate
Americanadjective
-
kept or keeping within reasonable or proper limits; not extreme, excessive, or intense.
a moderate price.
-
of medium quantity, extent, or amount.
a moderate income.
- Synonyms:
- average
-
mediocre or fair.
moderate talent.
-
calm or mild, as of the weather.
-
of or relating to moderates, as in politics or religion.
- Antonyms:
- radical
noun
-
moderates
plural
-
a person who is moderate in opinion or opposed to extreme views and actions, especially in politics or religion.
- Antonyms:
- radical
-
(usually initial capital letter) a member of a political party advocating moderate reform.
verb (used with object)
-
moderates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moderated,
past participle, past
-
moderating
present participle
-
to reduce the excessiveness of; make less violent, severe, intense, or rigorous.
to moderate the sharpness of one's words.
-
to preside over or at (a public forum, meeting, discussion, etc.).
verb (used without object)
-
moderates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moderated,
past participle, past
-
moderating
present participle
-
to become less violent, severe, intense, or rigorous.
-
to act as moderator; preside.
adjective
-
not extreme or excessive; within due or reasonable limits
moderate demands
-
not violent; mild or temperate
-
of average quality or extent
moderate success
noun
verb
-
to become or cause to become less extreme or violent
-
to preside over a meeting, discussion, etc
-
to act as an external moderator of the overall standards and marks for (some types of educational assessment)
-
physics to slow down (neutrons), esp by using a moderator
-
(tr) to monitor (the conversations in an on-line chatroom) for bad language, inappropriate content, etc
Synonym Usage
Moderate, temperate, judicious, reasonable all stress the avoidance of excess—emotional, physical, intellectual, or otherwise. Moderate implies response or behavior that is by nature not excessive: a moderate drinker, a moderate amount of assistance. Temperate, interchangeable with moderate in some general uses, usually stresses the idea of caution, control, or self-restraint: a surprisingly temperate response to the angry challenge. Judicious emphasizes prudence and the exercise of careful judgment: a judicious balance between freedom and restraint; judicious care to offend neither side. Reasonable suggests the imposition or adoption of limits derived from the application of reason or good sense: a reasonable price; a reasonable amount of damages allotted to each claimant. See allay.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
moderatesimple
-
moderatessimple
-
have moderatedperfect
-
has moderatedperfect
-
am moderatingprogressive
-
are moderatingprogressive
-
is moderatingprogressive
-
have been moderatingperfect progressive
-
has been moderatingperfect progressive
Past
-
moderatedsimple
-
had moderatedperfect
-
was moderatingprogressive
-
were moderatingprogressive
-
had been moderatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of moderate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English moderate (adjective) moderaten (verb), from Latin moderātus (past participle of moderārī “to mitigate, restrain, control”), equivalent to moderā- verb stem ( see modest) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
A moderate voter is someone who is politically speaking, in the center. In other words, they are not quite left or right, but somewhere in the middle. Moderate comes from the Latin for "medium sized," and as a noun and an adjective it means "middle, medium." If you get moderate rainfall, it's not too much and not too little. Goldilocks was known for her moderate tastes. As a verb, it means "to temper," or "to reduce from the extreme." If you moderate your speed while driving, you slow down a bit. If you moderate a discussion, you help two or more people have a reasonable conversation.
Vocabulary lists containing moderate
Liberty, Equality, Vocabulary: The French Revolution
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"The Flight of Icarus," Vocabulary from the myth
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The fire severity index —how severe a fire could be, should one to start — will come down to low or moderate, according to forecasts from Natural England and the Met Office.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
He has styled himself as a "more moderate" version of his firebrand father, while relying heavily on his enduring political appeal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
“However, these temporary tailwinds are likely to fade… Growth is expected to moderate in the coming months as the impact of higher prices and borrowing costs filter through to households and businesses,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Except this time the more moderate candidate won.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2026
Genetic differences arising in those differing environments imply a long history of moderate isolation between peoples of North and South China.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The same poll found 51% of registered voters in Texas preferred Talarico, as did 63% of moderates.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Throughout the campaign, Stevens argued that El-Sayed would not be able to defeat Rogers, a refrain some moderates repeated Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He moderates his earnings forecasts on some revenue slippage into future periods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But it’s true that some moderates are feeling burned.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
The prospect of a united front between Africans and Indians, between moderates and radicals, greatly worried them.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Then on Friday, Lyne will attend a 35mm screening of 2002’s “Unfaithful” with a Q&A moderated by podcaster and film historian Karina Longworth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Jet-fuel prices moderated in June, but have been on the rise again in recent days.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Foreign exchange tailwinds have also moderated, and the company now expects them at $45 million, instead of $50 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The New York Times heralded Mullin’s “warmer and fuzzier tone” during his confirmation hearing as a “sign that the administration wants to project a more moderated approach.”
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Charlie also accosted a man who analyzed the subprime mortgage bond market for Wachovia Bank, who happened to have been on the panel moderated by the shocking John Devaney.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The man has achieved significant political capital without moderating anything he stands for.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Candidates could consider moderating their message to attract orphaned voters, though that can be perilous.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
For workers, companies’ moderating budgets for pay increases show the price of hunkering down at their current job.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Consumer confidence ticked up in June as moderating oil prices provided some relief to American households, a monthly survey from The Conference Board said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Nuah is behind me, being Mr. Nice Guy and not passing me but moderating his pace.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
